The Benighted City - Patron¶
SOME CITIES MAY SLEEP, BUT NONE ARE SANE. --JOSSPER ROARINGHORN, EMISSARY OF EVERNIGHT
An ancient mythal, a prodigal feat of wizardry that permanently alters the Weave of magic in a certain location, was part of Thultanthar before it entered the Shadowfell, before it was infused with the strange energies of the plane of shadow for centuries, before thousands of its residents underwent the Trail of Five Darknesses (the ritual the makes a mortal into a Shade) within its eldritch precincts. Among the few who whisper of such things, it is thought that some combination of these factors may have had something to do with what happened next.
Beginning in the year the city returned from the Shadowfell, certain talented young would-be mages across Faerun began to dream they walked the precincts of an ancient Netherese city, its streets shrouded in darkness— and that those streets spoke. Again, these matters are known to a very small group of people, and among them there is disagreement as to the nature of this city. By its description, it would seem to have been Thultanthar itself, but some sources have claimed that another place, the infamous Shadowfell city of Gloomwrought is Thultanthar’s dark reflection, its gloomy twin in the realm of eternal night. If so, it could have been Gloomwrought’s twilit streets that these chosen few walked in restless dreams. Whichever was the case, whether it was the darkened mythal of Thultanthar or its ancient counterpart Gloomwrought, it seems the city now had a conscious will of its own—and that will wished to bargain.
Warlocks who accepted the shadowbound city as their patron gained not only insight into darkness, but also a preternatural instinct for the life of cities everywhere.
They heard the whispers of elemental spirits in chimney- smoke and cobblestones, foresaw the ebb and flow of urban commerce like a sailor knows the changing of the tides, and felt the hope and despair of multitudes rising like heat from the avenues beneath their feet.
Since Thultanthar fell, this voice of this patron has quieted, but not ceased. And other warlocks have claimed to make pacts in dreams with other dark cities, fitting the description of other sites in the Shadowfell, such as Evernight (the umbral twin of Neverwinter) or Ikemmu, a legendary settlement said to exist in both the Underdark and the Shadowfell at the same time. Was Thultanthar or Gloomwrought the first such city to awaken, or have these other cities always had their own inscrutable minds, waiting only to find their voice? Could other sites in the Realms—such as Silverymoon, Evereska, or Candlekeep, all known to be the sites of mythals, or even Waterdeep, atop the spell-haunted expanse of Undermountain—be sponsoring otherworldly pacts as well?
Expanded Spell List¶
The powerful consciousness of the shadowy city with which you’ve made your pact lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Benighted City Spells
Spell Level
1st ensnaring strike, grease
2nd alter self, locate object
3rd lightning arrow, meld into stone
4th locate creature, Mordenkainen’sprivate sanctum
5th creation, mislead
Bonus Proficiencies¶
At 1st level when you choose this Otherworldly Patron, you gain proficiency with all martial ranged weapons.
Shadow Dweller¶
At 1st level, you can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 30 feet. If you are within the confines of a settlement with a population of 100 or more—or within the ruins of a place that once boasted such a population—the distance of this effect is increased to 90 feet, and you can move through the space of any non-hostile creature that is of your size or smaller. In addition, if you are not in direct sunlight and have not taken radiant damage since the end of your last turn, you have advantage on death saving throws.
Umbral Jaunt¶
At 6th level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action you can teleport up to 30 feet (or 60 feet if you are within a city with a population of 100 more or the ruins of such a city) to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness.
When you take damage that is not radiant, you can use your reaction to teleport in the same way, but you may only do so once, regaining expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
Spirit of Shadow, Smoke, and Stone¶
At 10th level, you have becomed jaded by gazing too long into both the depths of the Shadowfell and the darkness all great cities hide. You gain advantage on saving throws against the frightened and charmed conditions, and resistance to necrotic and psychic damage.
Dark City¶
At 14th level, you can temporarily exile a foe into the dark city that is your patron. Choose a creature within 60 feet.
They must make a Charisma saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. If they fail, they take 3d12 psychic damage and are banished into wander into a demiplane that is a shadowy, empty cityscape where distant voices and furtive lights flicker in the distance. The target remains there for 1 minute or until they escape. Each round, they may choose to use their action to escape by rolling another Charisma save against the same DC and moving at least 15 feet. If they succeed, the effect ends. If they fail, they take 3d12 psychic damage. When the effect ends, they reappear in the same space they left (or the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied).
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
New Warlock Pact Options¶
Pact of the Gloom¶
The Pact of the Gloom allows you to call upon the magical substance of shadow, said to have been infused into all things at the beginning of time, from pieces of primordial chaos rejected in the creation of matter. When in darkness, you can weave shadows into a cloak that helps you hide from enemies.
When you are in dim light or darkness, you can use your bonus action to create a gloom cloak, a magical mantle of shadow that appears on your person. When you create this garment, you can choose its style and appearance, which can be in the form of any sort of cloak, cape, long coat, or jacket, but it always has an inky black color. Your gloom cloak disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the cloak, or if you die.
While you wear your gloom cloak, you can substitute Charisma for Dexterity when rolling Stealth checks. In addition, whenever you use your reaction to cast a spell or cantrip, you can take the Disengage or Hide action as part of the same reaction.
You can transform one magical cloak into your gloom cloak by performing a special ritual while you wear that cloak. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the cloak, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your gloom cloak thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact in this way. The magic item ceases being your gloom cloak if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different item or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The magical cloak appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
Pact of the Scar¶
You have made a dear sacrifice to seal your pact, one of your own flesh and blood, and you’re still making such sacrifices for power to this day—though the flesh and blood are not always yours. You gain proficiency in the Medicine skill and double your proficiency bonus on any check made with it. You also gain the Blood for Blood feature, which is fueled by special dice called blood dice. Both are described below.
Blood Dice. You have two blood dice, which are d6’s. A blood die is expended when you use it. You regain all of your expended blood dice when you finish a long rest. You can also regain a blood die by expending Hit Dice. When you expend Hit Dice in this way, you do not regain hit points. Instead, for every two Hit Dice you expend for this trait, you regain one blood die.
When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with an attack or spell, you can augment a blood die you have not yet expended. An augmented blood die becomes a d8 instead of a d6. When an expended blood die is regained, it is regained as a d6, even if it was augmented before you expended it.
Blood for Blood. When you use the eldritch blast cantrip or make a weapon attack, you can expend one blood die. You must choose to expend a blood die before making the attack roll. If that attack hits, you add the blood die as extra damage.
When you inflict damage with a blood die, you can heal yourself or a creature within 5 feet for a number of hit points equal to the blood die roll. If the die was augmented, you can also cure the healed creature of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it.
AUGMENTING WITH BLOOD OF GREAT LINEAGE¶
With the permission of your DM, when augmenting a blood die you can increase the augmentation if the life you extinguish has blood of particular power or great lineage. Most creatures, as well as humanoids of common ancestry such as peasants or warriors, do not offer this ability. However, humanoids from certain kingly or powerful bloodlines offer more energy to a warlock with this pact, as do certain noble creatures. Creatures suiting these criteria are divided into two categories: Uncommon Lineage and Rare Lineage. The DM reserves the right to decide the potency of the lineage a creature’s blood holds.
•Uncommon Lineage. A humanoid with an uncommon lineage has a rich heritage, though holds little power. A minor noble, such as a knight or courtier, serve as examples of humanoids with an uncommon lineage. In addition, true dragons (not dragon-like lesser creatures such as wyverns or drakes) are also considered to have uncommon lineage. When you augment a blood die after reducing a creature with uncommon lineage to 0 hit points, the blood die changes into a d10 instead of a d8.
•Rare Lineage. A humanoid with a rare lineage, such as a distant heir to a throne or even a member of royalty, bears the potential of great power. In addition, the blood of celestials bears great lineage, as well as non-humanoid royalty of significant power, such as giant kings or demon princes. When you augment a blood die after reducing a creature with uncommon lineage to 0 hit points, the blood die changes into a d12 instead of a d8.
Great Lineage Effects¶
Depending on your warlock level, blood dice augmented with great lineage may have special effects, as follows:
If your warlock level is 5th or higher: When you would heal a creature with a d10 or d12 blood die, you can instead choose to charge yourself with necromantic power. Until the end of your next turn, you may cast one of the following spells as a 3rd-level spell without using a spell slot or verbal or somatic components: animate dead, mass healing word, or revivify.
If your warlock level is 9th or higher: When you would heal a creature with a d12 blood die, you can instead choose to charge yourself with otherwordly power. Until the end of your next turn, you may cast one of the following spells as a 5th-level spell without using a spell slot or verbal or somatic components: contact other plane, greater restoration, or raise dead.
If your warlock level is 13th or higher: When you would heal a creature with a d12 blood die, you can instead choose to charge yourself with destructive power. Until the end of your next turn, you may cast one of the following spells as a 7th-level spell without using a spell slot or verbal or somatic components: divine word or finger of death.
Ritual Augmentation. If you have a willing or captured creature of great lineage, you may be able to use their blood to augment a blood die without killing them. You perform a
1-hour ritual, which requires you and the creature of great lineage to be within 5 feet of each other for the entire ritual. At the end of the ritual, you choose whether the creature takes damage equal to half its maximum hit points or gains
2levels of exhaustion. Either way, you may then augment a blood die as if you had reduced that creature to 0 hit points.
Eldritch Invocations¶
At 2nd level, a warlock gains the Eldritch Invocations feature. The new eldritch invocation options below are associated with the Benighted City, though not all require that patron.
Black Mirror¶
Prerequisite: 15th level, Pact of the Tome feature
You can cast either project image or simulacrum once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can use cast a spell with this eldritch invocation again.
Destructive Messenger¶
Prerequisite: 5th level, The Benighted City patron, Pact of the Chain feature
You can use a 10-minute ritual to turn your familiar into a nondescript commoner of a race appropriate for the nearby area, dressed in the manner of a local peasant or vagabond. They lose all of their own statistics and use those of a commoner only, but they can speak and have all the normal abilities of a commoner of that race, and you can speak through them as well as using their senses as your familiar. You can return them to their true form as a bonus action. If they are reduced to 0 hit points while in their commoner form, they immediately explode in a shadowy conflagration, forcing anyone within 20 feet to make a Dexterity saving throw against your warlock spell DC. Those who fail take 4d8 necrotic damage, and those who succeed take half as much.
Hidden Pathway¶
Prerequisite: 3rd level, Pact of the Gloom feature
You can cast pass without trace once without expending a spell slot or any material components. You can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Shadow Shield¶
Prerequisite: Pact of the Gloom feature You learn the shield spell as a warlock spell, but it does not count against your number of spells known. You can cast the spell once without expending a spell slot or any material components. You can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Smoking Bolts¶
Prerequisite: The Benighted City patron, Pact of the Blade feature
You can create a hand crossbow using your Pact of the Blade feature. When you load it, you draw a wisp of black smoke out of the air that magically transforms into a black crossbow bolt, which vanishes after 1 minute. When you fire it at a creature you’ve made a successful Wisdom (Insight) check against within the past 24 hours, you have advantage on the attack roll. When you hit a creature with it, you can expend a spell slot to deal an additional 2d8 necrotic damage to the target per spell level.
Spectral Amunition¶
Prerequisite: The Benighted City patron
Each time you make a ranged attack that uses a piece of ammunition, this effect magically replaces it with a similar piece of nonmagical ammunition. Any piece of ammunition created by this spell dissipates 1 minute after it is created.
Summon Shadow Assassin¶
Prerequisites: 5th level, Pact of the Scar feature You can expend an augmented blood die from your Pact of the Scar feature to summon an assassin made of pure shadow, which appears in an unoccupied space that you can see within 50 feet. The assassin disappears when it drops to 0 hit points, when its chosen target is dead, or after 1 hour. The assassin has no other purpose except to kill a single target you choose when you use this eldritch invocation You do not need to see the target when you choose it, but it must be within 120 feet. If you do not choose a target when it is summoned, the assassin waits for you to choose one, defending itself from hostile creatures but otherwise taking no actions until its target is chosen. The DM has the statistics on the assassin, but those statistics change depending on your level, as follows:
•Warlock level 10th or lower: Specter
•Warlock level 11th-16th: Shadow demon
•Warlock level 17th or higher: Wraith
Once you use this eldritch invocation, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
AUGMENTED SHADOW ASSASSINS¶
If the augmented blood die you use to summon the shadow assassin was augmented with blood of great lineage, it adds the augmented blood die to its damage the first time it inflicts damage on its chosen target. In addition, the shadow assassin resembles the creature of great lineage whose powerful blood augmented it.
Urban Hunter¶
Prerequisite: The Benighted City patron, hex spell You replace the hex spell on the list of spells you know with the hunter’s mark spell, which is a warlock spell for you. When a creature is the subject of your hunter’s mark spell, they have disadvantage on Charisma checks.
The Wyrd Coven¶
WE HAVE MANY TRAVELERS STOP BY, CHILD! MOST HAPPILY GIVE US A TRINKET OR TWO FOR A WARM BITE TO EAT. BUT THOSE TWO.. WELL, THOSE TWO LOOKED LIKE THEY TASTED RATHER LOVELY... --SISTER ROTFACE, GREEN HAG OF BLOODROOT HOLLOW
Hags come in many varieties, from fey to fiends, but some covens transcend the normal types, unifying to become otherworldly powers unto themselves. Often connected to goddesses of dark sorcery, these covens exist outside of time itself, appearing when they wish to interfere in mortal events with threats and prophecies. No one seeks a pact with these all-seeing hags—their dealings occur only in times and places of their own choosing, at moments in time when great destinities intertwine or unravel. Few chosen subjects ever elude their occult manipulations. Just as covens combine fey and fiendish entities into one circle of horror, the Pact of the Wyrd Coven combines abilities from the Pacts of the Archfey and the Fiend with the near¬omniscient prescience of this greater hags.
Since the strange events that preceded the liberation of Phlan from the green dragon known as the Maimed Virulence—during which a strange mist seems to have temporarily linked much of the surrounding area to the Domain of Dread known as Barovia—it is a said a coven of hags near Phlan gained eldritch power by some strange bargain, and now exist out of time, acting as the patrons to new warlocks. Tales differ as to whether this coven is in the Twilight Marsh or the Quivering Forest, but many warlocks in the area of Phlan are believed to possess these abilities, though they certainly do not deaw attention to themselves.
Wyrd Coven Expanded Spell List¶
The hags of the Wyrd Coven allow you to choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Wyrd Coven Expanded Spells
Spell Level Spells
1st absorb elements, detect evil and good
2nd augury, magic weapon
3rd clairvoyance, protection from energy
4th dmnation, staggering smite
5th legend lore, mislead
Eldritch Malediction¶
At 1st level, greater forces hasten the doom of those you curse. When you inflict damage with an attack against one or more creatures who are currently the subject of a concentration spell you cast, you can inflict additional psychic damage equal to your proficiency bonus against one of the damaged creatures.
Wyrd Concoction¶
Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to boil eldritch ingredients in a special vessel provided by your patron, creating a wyrd concoction, which you can use for a variety of purposes. The vessel takes the form of a small cauldron, kettle, or vial made of cold iron with an attached lid or stopper. You gain proficiency with alchemists’ supplies, and if you have them on your person you can use them to create this wyrd concoction in your vessel. If you do not have your vessel, you can conjure a new one from your patron whenever you begin this process. Creating the wyrd concoction takes one hour, which can be part of a short or long rest, and it remains sealed in your vessel until you expend it or finish a short or long rest, in which case it vaporizes at once. It has the following uses:
•When you use a warlock spell slot to cast a divination spell of 5th level or lower, or to cast a 1st level enchantment spell, you can immediately use your reaction to expend your wyrd concoction to regain that spell slot.
•When the current subject of a concentration spell you cast is reduced to 0 hit points, you can expend your wyrd concoction to regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier.
•When the current subject of a concentration spell you cast is struck by a critical hit, you can expend your wyrd concoction as a reaction to force creatures within 5 feet of the slain creature to roll a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spellcasting DC or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
Mists of Time¶
At 6th level, you can avoid harm by hiding yourself within a veil of otherworldly mist. As a reaction when you are hit by an attack and take bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage from it, you can reduce that damage by an amount equal to your warlock level plus your Charisma score, and then cause a 10-foot cube centered on you to fill with mist, becoming heavily obscured. It lasts until the beginning of your next turn, during which time you do not provoke opportunity attacks from the attacker who inflicted the triggering damage. You can see through this mist as if it weren’t there. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Deathless¶
Beginning at 10th level, visions of your patron coven appear to you each night, warning you of deadly harm you may face in the coming day. Whenever you finish a long rest, you gain the benefits of a death ward spell. The spell’s duration is extended to 24 hours.
Cauldron of Fate¶
Starting at 14th level, your wyrd concoction grows more powerful, and breathing its fumes grants you visions of future threats. Whenever you create your wyrd concoction, you gain advantage on death saving throws, immunity to the frightened condition, and resistance to necrotic damage until the next time you finish a short or long rest. In addition, when your wyrd concoction would normally be expended, you can instead use it again once more. After the second use, it is expended normally.